ore and more businesses are retooling their marketing strategies, and their products, to target rural consumers with small incomes but rising aspirations. Motorola is the latest to tap into the rural market with its 'made in India' handset which retails for as little as Rs 1,700. The product is being distributed through ITC's e-choupals and DCM's Hariyali chain of rural utility markets.

In India, 50 per cent of the villages are still without phones. The rural tele-density is less than 0.5 per cent. Are mobile phones the answer? Lloyd Mathias, director marketing, Motorola India says, "The mobile phone is virtually a first telephone connection even ahead of a land line for many in rural markets. And we clearly see a way forward in tying up with companies which already have a strong presence in these markets, such as the DCM Group, which has 28 operating stores and many sugar mills in large parts of north India."... more